The Girl in the Little Yellow Dress
by DrtyDiva
Summary: Camilla Salander is living her life free from the dark cloud of her past, but when Lisbeth is being sought for three murders will Camilla come to her aid or will she turn her back once again on her twin? And what happens when Blomkvist meets the other Salander twin?
1. Chapter 1

**Monday, March 14 - Sunday, March 20**

The tiny redhead stood at the lectern and smiled as she received the applause of her peers. "Thank you for this endowment. With your money and support one day brain damage will be a thing of the past." This announcement was met with another smart applause. Camilla stood back and clapped along with everyone else.

She sat back down in her chair and the rest of the program went on. Camilla Salander had just been awarded one of the largest research endowments and she was utterly pleased as punch about it. After the program ended she shook hands with all the important people and smiled and posed for the cameras. She was in her element. Camilla Salander loved being in the thick of things around smiling and laughing people.

The party went on for a few more hours. Till the liquor dried up. It always amazed her how much doctors drank. The very people who intimately knew what alcohol did to the body seemed to drink the most. Camilla had nursed a small measure of wine the entire night.

Her taxi dropped her off a little after 9 pm. It had been a long day and she was glad to be away from anyone wanting anything from her. It was trying being her sometimes. Everyone always wanted something from her. It was nice to just be alone. Camilla grabbed a drink in the hotel bar. She wasn't one to drink, but she felt that she more than deserved it. She sipped on the mudslide and looked around the bar. Most of the people looked liked as if they had one foot in the grave with the other ankle in the grips of the Grim Reaper.

She rather thought Orlando was a bit of a party town, but the Holiday Inn didn't seem to be on the hip list. Camilla chuckled that at 26 she was using words like hip.

"Can I buy you a drink beautiful," a voice purred in her ear. Camilla flinched back. Nearly turning her drink out on her dress. She turned around in her bar stool to look at the speaker. It was a red faced man with watery eyes and rancid breath.

"No thank you." Camilla said cooly. She was hardly in the mood to get picked up let alone by someone who looked like he had couldn't spell toothpaste.

"Why not?" he slurred.

There was not point in argueing with the man. He was beyond reason. Camilla pushed her drink aside. She reached in her purse and left a twenty on the bar top. "Thank you." she told the bartender as she turned and walked out of the bar. It was time for bed anyways. She had an early flight.

Another couple was getting off the elevator and Camilla managed to slip in after them. She pushed the button for the 15th floor the door was just slipping close when a arm shot in and stopped it. Camilla wanted to groan when she saw it was the man from the bar, but apparently he was a guest and she couldn't very well make a fuss about another guest heading up to his room.

She stepped in close to the wall of the elevator as the doors snicked closed. He turned and grinned at her. "And we meet again." Camilla ignored him. "I dig chicks that play hard to get." He took a step closer to her. "I like the chase." He threw his arm out in front of her face so that he could lean against the wall. They were passing the seventh floor.

"Look I've had an extremely long day, and I've got an early flight in the morning. Leave me alone please." She told the man as pleasantly as she could.

She had already told him no down at the bar and he still wasn't getting the message. This was going to be the last warning she gave him. He threw off her warning and leaned in to try and kiss her. Camilla brought her heeled foot down and about 150 psi of pressure down on his foot.

It took a second for the pain to register, but he howled when it finally did. She brought her leg back as far as it would go and delivered a kick to his balls that left stars in front of her eyes. His yowl got chocked off and he dropped to his knees. Then the snapped her arm back and popped him square in the face. He flew back against the elevator doors just as they were opening. He toppled out into the hallway at the feet of a very startled couple.

Camilla smiled sweetly at both of them. "No means no." she told both of them before striding off to her room.

Once in her room she undressed quickly and ran a bath. Normally she didn't like bathing in strange bathtubs, but she had more than earned a nice soak. She grabbed a cool mineral water from the little fridge and her dogeared copy Harry Potter and the Sorceress Stone. She couldn't explain why but it was her favorite book.

She climbed into the tub and sat there reading long after the water had gone cold. She felt like a prune as she toweled herself off. She climbed into the bed and was asleep before her eyes closed.

Her alarm woke her at 6 am. It was an hour later than she usually got up and she had to a flight to catch. She could go on her morning run when she got home. Camilla packed up her room and was waiting on a shuttle to the airport forty-five minutes later.

Her flight from Orlando to Austin was uneventful and for that she was thankful. She had quite enough. She picked up her car from the short term lot and drove home. She stopped by the pet spa to pick up Dot who was happy to see Camilla.

They went home whee Camille fixed Dot something to eat before she closed herself off in her office. Her eyes fell on the picture in her drawer as she pulled out a stack of papers. It was the only picture that captured the Salander family before everything went bad. Camilla picked up the pictured and stared at it. Camilla in a little yellow dress with daises painted along the neckline and hem stood on one side. Her hair was done up in soft ringlets around her face. Her sister, Lisbeth was brooding like a storm cloud stood on the other side. She had on a pair of torn and filthy black jeans and a Ghostbusters t-shirt. Her hair, what was left of it because in a angry fit the night before she had taken a pair of scissors to it, was sticking out at odd angles all over her head. Their mother stood in the middle of them. Sofia Salander also wore a summer dress, but she had on fishnet stockings. She was the bridge between her twin daughters. At the time Camilla thought it was terribly silly, but looking at it now her mother had always tried to be the best of both girls so they could see the good in each other.

Camilla didn't know she was crying till a tear drop splashed across the picture. She wiped her face and replaced the picture back in the drawer.

~~X~~

Salander had gotten a scholarship to Yale when she left school in Sweden. It was her ticket out. Her golden parachute. Her foster parents had been a god send for sure, but still she wanted to just get away from everything and anything that felt like home. She had worked up the nerve to leave and that's what she was going to do.

The Salander twins may have been as different as a pineapple is to a great white whale, but they were both blessed with genius level intelligence. Camilla soaked in everything that she read. And Camilla did read. By the time she was seven she knew what she wanted to do with her life. She wanted to be a geneticist. Her family was certainly an optimal case study.

Her first semester at school had been hard. The language was easy enough to pick up. Camilla could speak four languages by the time she was 10. Adjusting to life on her own had been more difficult than she thought. She didn't have a buffer zone anymore.

Growing up Lisbeth had been her shield. Lisbeth tried her best to push Camilla away, and Camilla wasn't stupid. She kept away from her sister. But Lisbeth still had enough of that sisterly love left in her to try and protect Camilla and their mother from harm. Lisbeth was everyone's shield if you knew her. Her mother had been worse than nothing when it came to trying to protect them from their father. Oh he didn't so much as physically abuse them, but the mental abuse had been rampant. That's why Camilla just stayed out of his way. Books were her escape. Milla thought she had seen and survived the ugly side of life, and to be truthful she had, but still that didn't prepare her for her first year on her own in the new country and with looks like hers.

She could still remember how his sweat smelled. It had been her first boyfriend. Milla would chuckle now at the use of that word, but at the time she thought it fit. Branford Miller. Oh how handsome he was. She had been smitten at the word go. He sat behind her in Anatomy. It started out as an innocent smile here a stolen glance there. It wasn't until a last minute study night before midterms that she finally worked up the courage to speak to him.

After that it was dinner here a movie there. Nothing he did alerted her to the monster underneath. It was New Year's Eve and they were at a friends party waiting to bring in the new year together. It started as a simple kiss that quickly moved to heavy petting. Milla was a virgin and frankly having sex on a bed full of coats in a stranger's house was not her idea of the perfect recipe for romance. She tried to stop but Bran wasn't having it. He stuffed the sleeve of a jacket in her mouth and raped her. Afterwards he just got off the bed and walked out the door.

Milla had laid on the bed in a trance like state. She hadn't really believed that Bran was raping her. Not her, not Camilla. She was the sweet one. The one that stayed in her place and didn't rock the boat. This wasn't supposed to be happening to her. Another partygoer found her and got her back to her dorm room.

It took her nearly a week to even register that something had happened to her. When it finally hit her she screamed herself horse and cried till she had to go to the student health center for dehydration. They kept her for two days. They wanted her to start taking antidepressants, but she refused them. She didn't need to be drugged up as if she had been the one to do something wrong.

When she was released Camilla lived up to the name Salander. If you were to ask her what changed she couldn't tell you, but after her breakdown she was mad as hell. It took her several days to work out her revenge, and during that time Camilla discovered a fury that she didn't know she had. All those years she had thought her sister stark raving mad for the blind hatred she had for there father. Right now Camilla was damned sure she could have tossed a milk carton full of gasoline into his car window too.

Camilla had invited Bran out to dinner at a sushi place. He was skeptical at first. Usually the girls he raped just scampered off into the sunset never to be seen again. One or two of them turned up at the Miller home demanding justice or child support. All of them were turned out on their ear of course. No on threatened a Miller, but Camilla had invited him to dinner. She sounded to sweet over the phone he had wondered if she had even remembered what had happened.

And Bran was always thinking of his next orgasm. Maybe he could get one more roll in the hay from Camilla. The night had been great. She prattled on and on as if nothing had ever happened. Bran even relaxed back into his usual charming self. He had even let her order for him.

She had ordered something called sashimi fugu for them. He wasn't one for raw fish, but she sung its praises. It turned out to be pretty decent and they ended the evening with a bottle of expensive Sake. Salander drove them back to his place. For some reason Bran felt as if he had drunk an entire keg and he was sure his lips and half of his face were numb. Camilla helped him stumble back to his apartment and after that the world went black.

He woke up the next morning naked in his bed. He assumed it had been a really good night. It took him nearly seven months to realize what she had done. Well it wasn't even Bran that worked out what had happened. It was the family trust lawyer. She had emptied out Bran's account. She left enough vapor to avoid detection, but he was flat broke and no one could explain why. She wasn't the word class hacker like her sister, but she knew enough about it to steal from Bran Miller and make him pay for what he had did to her and countless other girls. Well it was easy when he left all of his banking information laying around in his desk. She sent the money to various banks in the Caymens, then paid a series or drunks or vagrant beer money to empty it out. It took her nearly two weeks.

Then she hopped over to Switzerland and deposited the money in the national bank. It had given her tremendous satisfaction when she was handed her key. Of the ones that she knew about Camilla shared the wealth. Not a lot to raise eyebrows just enough for the girls to get a little vindication.

She even left a post it note in Brans drawer where he kept his banking info. Oh he cursed and raged for weeks when he found it. But Camilla hadn't left any trace of her presence. The money had been moved with Bran's blessing as it was done on his computer and with his password. It was a legitimate transfer. There was nothing he could do, and Camilla loved it.

After that she started take Aikido lessons. It was the perfect martial art for someone who was always going to be smaller and lighter than her opponent. It also taught her knife skills, and other valuable life lessons that Camilla was thankful for learning. She added Judo to her skill set as well. It couldn't hurt and it kept her in shape. Not that she was in danger of becoming a pig or anything, but it felt good to get nice and sweaty from training. Never again was she just going to check out on life when things got rough.

Four yeas later she got her dual M.D./PhD degree in biogenetic engineering and she never had to see Branford Miller again.

~~X~~

The next morning she walked into her office nearly scaring her assistant. "Stop looking at porn on the company computer Sage." She scolded.

"It's not porn. Its performance art." Sage grumbled as she switched off the video. Sage Gibson was studying to get her PhD in genetics and it had taken her two years of applying to get on Camilla's research team. "How was the banquet? Did they serve that horrible chicken again?" she asked.

Camilla hung up her coat before unlocking her office and walking in. Sage followed her with a mountain of notes and phone messages in her hand. "It was actually a really nice dinner and they paraded me around like a championship pony, but its alright. The check they wrote was big enough that I would have worn a saddle for them." She snickered. Sage giggled as well. Though the two of them were boss and employee, and Sage was a year older her and Camilla had developed an instant friendship.

Sage was a lot like Camilla's sister. They both had a unflinching and uncompromising manner about them. It was the thing that made Sage such a good scientist and researcher.

"So we have the money to do the updates to the lab?" she asked breathlessly.

"Yes and we got the green light on the Aurora project." Camilla sat down and started going through the messages Sage had just handed her.

Camilla was sitting at a corner cafe just trying to enjoy her afternoon. She had a stack of application s lying on the table in front of her. She loved her office she really did, but sometimes she just needed to get away from it to get any work done.

She just happened to look up when the face on the TV above the coffee bar caused her to lose the grip she had on her cup. The cup crashed and several people turned their attention to the teenage looking young woman.

She ignored them all as she stood up to inch herself closer to the TV. "In international news Sweden as issued an all points bulletin for the capture of fugitive Lisbeth Salander. Salander is being sought for three murders in Stockholm last week. Salander is considered extremely dangerous and possible mentally ill..." the TV anchors voice went on and on, but Camilla had stopped listening.

"She's finally done it." Her heart started to pound painfully in her chest. "She finally killed someone." Camilla said.

She went back to her table and gathered up her things. Though they did not look a thing alike. Thanks to Lisbeth's make-up choices, Camilla didn't want there to be any mistakes made. She hurried out of the cafe and jumped into her car.

She was on the highway faster than she should have been and she prayed that no one was going to pull her over. She just needed to get home. After that she wasn't sure what she was going to do, but home was where she was safe. She shot off a quick text to Sage telling her that she wasn't coming back into the office.

Camilla Salander had been afforded everything in life that her twin sister Lisbeth had been denied. She had her mother's good looks and curves. She was barely 4 foot 11 to be sure, but she made up for it with gentle lines and a stunning smile. Camilla was as sweet natured as a new born kitten. Which drew people to her like a sixth sense. Of course she knew what their father was doing to their mother, but their mom begged them to say nothing and she always made sure to lock them in their room when he happened to drop in for a roll in the hay. Camilla just wasn't built like Lisbeth. The though of violence sent her rocking and crying into a dark corner to the evil passed. It was the thing that tore them apart. Lisbeth liked being on the edges of decency and compassion. Camilla wanted to be in the thick of it.

They were both very stubborn that way. Though after everything that happened in her first year at school she didn't feel that way anymore. Well violence was never her first choice. It was something that she resorted to at the last minute if the situation called for it. Save that incident at the hotel she had never hit another person outside of sparring at the gym.

As she drove she could remember their last meeting together. It was right before Camilla was to leave for university in the United States.

~~X~~

Lisbeth had been locked away in the St. Stephens because she refused to play by the rules. Camilla knew she wouldn't survive there, so she danced to whatever tune the policemen asked her to do. And she was rewarded for it. Lisbeth hated her for siding with them.

"Where is he?" Lisbeth asked.

"I don't know. Why the hell would I know where he is." Camilla said for the millionth time. Camilla had thought that today was going to be a day of healing and that Lisbeth was coming so that they could at least be a family again. She should have known better.

"I know they told you where he is. Has he stopped by to tuck you in?" Lisbeth asked.

Camilla wanted to scream. "What the hell is that supposed to mean?" Camilla asked. They were in her father's study. Camilla didn't want Lisbeth in her room and she didn't want to burden her foster family with Lisbeth's presence. When she opened the door she was hit with the cold vibe rolling off her sister.

"Is how you are spending your 30 pieces of silver?" Lisbeth sneered. Her lip ring glinted in the light and for all intents and purposes in Camilla's book she looked like an imp sent from hell to punish her.

"What was the alternative? Spending the rest of my life strapped to a bed so dirty men could touch me." Camilla yelled. She instantly regretted the words, but they were out now and the look on her sister's face caused her to step back a pace.

Lisbeth didn't say anything for a few seconds and Camilla thought she was going to let the offense pass. She should have know better. Faster than her eyes could track her sister snapped her arm back and popped her square in the face.

Camilla screeched and toppled to the ground. "You're just as bad as the rest of them." Lisbeth yelled advancing on her sister.

Something in Camilla snapped. She had suffered the abuse of her mother passively, but she was not going to suffer her sister's wrath for something she didn't have control over. Camilla jumped up and pounced on her sister. Lisbeth was caught totally off guard. The two fell to the ground in a snarl mass of hair and teeth. Camilla landed a few good punches to her sister's face which made her immensely proud.

"Camilla!" her foster mother cried as her parents raced in to separate the twins. It took several minutes to pull the two apart. Camilla's lip was split open and blood was dripping down onto her shirt. Lisbeth was going to have a black eye for several days.

"You don't get it! You're little one woman army routine accomplished nothing! Mother didn't care if father beat her dead as long as he kept coming back to her you silly cow. You saved no one. You only made things worse. Don't ever contact me again!" Camilla raged from the arms of her foster mother who looked shocked at the outburst. Camilla had never so much as raised her voice to another human being let alone deliberately tried to hurt them.

Lisbeth threw off the strong arms of Camilla's foster father and her two brothers. "I think it would be best if you left Lisbeth." Oscar said as he glared at Lisbeth. He had told Palmegren that a meeting between the sisters wouldn't go well, and now that little devil has upset his daughter. For Oscar thought of Camilla as his daughter. They had taken her in when she was twelve and it had then them years to earn her trust and to get her to open up about "All the Evil," as she called it. And now he could see why she called Lisbeth evil.

Lisbeth glared at them all. "Fine." she said so softly they would later contemplate if she had really spoken at all.

No one moved till they heard the front door open and slam. It broke the spell over them all. Oscar let loose the breath he had been holding and Camilla promptly fainted.

~~X~~

She pulled into the driveway of her home and pressed the garage door opener. She could hear her dog yapping from the kitchen door as she climbed out of her Nissa Altima. It was the biggest car she dared to buy. Anything else and she would have been too scared to try and keep it on the road.

Salander opened the door to her two story modern home. She had purchased it with the blood money the Sapo men had given her to ensure her silence. She knew what it was, but it didn't matter to her. She never wanted to dig up the memories ever again and if they wanted to throw money at her to keep her quiet well then that was on them. She hadn't even touched the money to took from Bran Miller. That was her nest egg.

Her dog, Dot jumped up into her arms and licked the side of her face. Dot was always supremely happy to see Camilla, no matter how long she stayed away. That was the mark of a good dog if you asked her. She nuzzled Dot as she walked into her kitchen. She grabbed a bran muffin and a SpecialK protein shake before walking into the living room and switching on the TV. She didn't get any Swedish stations, but she was sure BBC America would be running the story.

Sure enough the anchor was recapping the Salander story. Camilla sat down and listened to the sordid tale of her sister. She could believe that her sister was capable of murder. She had seen first hand the home made firebomb Lisbeth had thrown into their father's car, but Camilla was sure that whomever they were claiming her sister had murdered Lisbeth had a good reason.

Her cell phone beeped. She answered it without looking at the caller ID. "Dr. Salander." she said.

"What," the voice asked as if she weren't really on the line.

"This is Dr. Salander. Who is this?" she demanded.

"I'm sorry to bother you. I didn't think it was possible that there were two of you. My name is Mikael Blomkvist. I'm a friend of your sister's." Camilla racked her brain. She had heard that name before. Wennerstrom.

The name slapped her across the frontal lobe. A reporter. Damnit how had they tracked her down? Camilla and Sapo had made sure to keep her and Lisbeth very separate.

"If you know Lisbeth than you know she doesn't have friends." Camilla cut in. "Why are you calling me Mr. Blomkvist?" Camilla looked around her house as if this Mikael was going to jump out of her potted plants. She was unaware that her Swedish accent was showing through the more she talked to Blomkvist.

"I don't know if you have heard, but your sister is in a lot of trouble and I want to help her." He started to say.

"What does that have to do with me? If you've tracked me down you know that I am no where near Sweden and haven't been for years. Lisbeth and I had spoken since we were 17. And we tried our best to kill each other. I can not fathom why you called me." Camilla stood up displacing Dot from her perch in her lap.

"Dr. Salander, your sister is in very serious trouble and she is going to need all the help she can get. Are things really that bad between you two?" Blomkvist asked softly.

Camilla bit back the retort that bubbled up on her lips. Camilla had often thought about the last thing she said to her sister. She could see the hurt that she caused Lisbeth and she had regretted that it was to be the last words they ever spoke, and now this reporter was pulling on her heart strings.

Could Camilla sit back and watch the system beat up her sister again? Even though they told her it was for her sister's own good that she was shut away in that nut house Camilla knew it was to keep her quiet. Lisbeth was never going to sit back and forget everything that happened. Never and Lisbeth was never going to sit back and watch other's done the same way and do nothing. They knew that Camilla would do just that. Camilla the scared little thing who's only defense was to shed a few tears and look the part of a living doll till someone held her and told her the world was going to be right as rain in the morning.

Could Camilla with the power and knowledge to blow everything apart stand idly by and do nothing, again? She knew her father was the worst sort of monster and still she acted as if nothing was going on. She even went as far as to hug her father each and ever time before he swept out of their life. Even after she saw the aftermath of his love upon her mother's face. Camilla's way of coping was to pretend everything was alright, but it wasn't and it never would be if she did nothing.

Camilla sighed. It was now or never she told her. Either she stood up to be counted or she stuck her head in the sand again till this all blowed over, but if she remembered Hurricane Lisbeth things were only going to be worst before the Red Cross stepped in and sorted out the body parts. "Mr. Blomkvist I will be in Sweden tomorrow." Camilla said.

"Thank you Dr. Salander." he rattled off his mobile number for her. To which she wrote down before hanging up. She called her office to take the time off before hopping onto her computer to book herself a first class ticket to Stockholm. She hadn't been home in years and Lisbeth was calling her back.

Camilla dropped Dot off with a friend with money to get her food and to the spa if she needed it. Dot was in a right state as she backed out of the driveway. She wanted to take Dot with her, but it wasn't feasible. She didn't know where she was going to end up and dragging her dog into the fray was not high on her list of good ideas.

She made it back home with enough time to pack a few staples. She could buy more clothes once she landed in Stockholm. There was no sense in packing up her entire wardrobe. Which had been her first impulse.

After packing she called a car service to take her to the airport. She had a feeling this wasn't going to be a weekend jaunt.

She only had a three hour wait at the airport before her flight left. She had a hour layover at JFK before she touched down in Stockholm a little after one a.m. She phone Blomkvist and waited for him to pick her up.

She felt weird being back home. She had made a promise to herself when she boarded her flight to the United States that she would never go back to Sweden, and here she was.

She stood in the arrivals terminal with her little suitcase and her purse. She saw Blomkvist as he walked up. He was a handsome man, she thought. Even if he was a little old for her taste. He was looking around for her. She had to suppress a smile. He thought she was going to look exactly like Lisbeth. With her scarecrow look.

"Mr. Blomkvist." she called. He turned around to stare at her.

"Dr. Salander?" He wasn't sure she wasn't pulling her leg.

Camilla held out her hand for him to shake, "Camilla Salander. Pleased to meet you." She gave him a strong handshake. To which he returned even as he stood in her face blinking like an idiot.


	2. Chapter 2

Blomkvist stood rooted on the spot. He knew things were still moving about him, but for the life of him he couldn't track them. He had a fixed image of Lisbeth in his mind. It was hard not to with her, but standing before him was Lisbeth's spitting image in a beautiful package.

Camilla was a waif like pixie with riveting red hair that curled around her face like a blossom. She was delicate and soft where Lisbeth was hard and unforgiving. Blomkvist had never been so taken aback by a woman before.

And she was staring at him like he was one of her science experiments. "Forgive me." he finally managed to say. "The resemblance is uncanny." He had to resist the urge to reach out to stroke her cheek. He couldn't be sure she didn't pick up some of Lisbeth's habits. Like biting and shooting people.

"Its alright. Very few people know about me so I am sure my appearance is something of a shock, but I've been on a plane for 10 hours." Camilla stated. "I could use a nice soak and a lay down." The only thing she really wanted to do was to soak in a tube for two hours order a nice bottle of wine and crawl into a soft bed.

"Damn I'm sorry," He reached out to carry her bag to which she gratefully deposited them. Another thing that set the Salander twins apart. Lisbeth would chew off her own leg caught in a bear trap before allowing the trapper to set her free.

They walked out of the airport into the chill of the evening. Camilla stopped to button up her rather thin coat. It hadn't started to get cold in North Carolina yet. She could still go swimming in a outdoor pool if she wanted to. Not that she ever did. "You're going to need a heavier coat Dr. Salander if you plan on staying in Sweden." Blomkvist commented. He was still trying to get over his shock.

Camilla shivered as she did up the top button on her coat. "There may be some truth in that Mr. Blomkvist." She chuckled as he went to hail a cab. The wind sliced through her coat like a machete through tin foil.

It was strange to be back in a country that ran mostly on public transport. She had grown used to her car. Even grown to like it. She wouldn't mind renting a car to get around town in. It was weird how American she was becoming without even realizing it. She even had an American passport now. Though she used her Swedish one to get back into the country. Less of a line going through Customs that way.

She was pleasantly pleased with Blomkvist fussing over her. It had been a long time since she welcomed a man's attention. For some reason she felt safe with Blomkvist thought she had just met the man. Not safe in that she was going to change in front of him. That was something to be earned if you asked Camilla.

He placed her light luggage into the trunk and stepped back to allow her to slide into the cab first. She nodded her head and climbed in. He slide in after her. They sat on opposite sides with her purse in the center.

The taxi ride into Stockholm proper was an experience for Camilla. She had vowed that she was never going to come back and for her sister to be the reason put a different spin on things. Camilla had buried her feelings for Lisbeth a long time ago. Lisbeth was the sort of person that didn't go back on their word or their vow and she had made it perfectly clear that she didn't consider Camilla family any longer. She was more nervous about meeting her sister than she had been when she was defending her dissertation. Of course her dissertation panel didn't shoot her if she made a mistake. The thought made her chuckle.

"Ore for your thoughts," Blomkvist asked. Camilla had almost forgotten he was in the cab.

"Just thinking about the last time I saw Lisbeth." She told him. She left it at that. She wasn't sure if she were ready for the tell all of the Salander twins. That was quite a tale and it was going to require rest and lots of alcohol. Which she didn't drink. They left the statement hanging in the air as the cab moved through the city.

Most of all the city itself was lit up brilliantly. Camilla had to admit that there were few cities in the United States that could rival a sleepy town in Europe when they turned the lights on. It was a pang in her heart to see her birthplace again.

When she had left she had done so under a dark cloud of pain with just a touch of shame over the way she had left things with her sister, but now there was something of the unknown. The city seemed foreign to her now. Something subtle had changed and she wasn't sure what it was, but Stockholm didn't feel like home anymore. Camilla wouldn't call herself an American, she wasn't prepared to go that far, but she certainly didn't consider herself a Swede anymore.

"Is it strange being home?" Blomkvist asked softly as if he had been watching a DVD of her thoughts.

Camilla turned from the window to look at him, "I don't know if its still my home." And somehow that didn't make her feel good.

"Lisbeth." Blomkvist he started then stopped. Though they were sisters he didn't think that he should be telling any of Lisbeth's secrets.

Camilla gave him a small smile, "No explanation needed. I spent more time with her than any other person save out mother. Well, what time that she would spend with me. I know what she's like." And with that she turned back to the window.

She didn't want to be rude, but she just needed to be left to her own thoughts for the moment.

Blomkist nodded and just told the driver to take them to his apartment. He wasn't sure if Camilla had made any arrangements and since she wasn't speaking he just made the choice for her. It was a good forty minute drive to get back into the city proper and he was content to do it in silence. He wasn't sure what all was running through her head, but he could only imagine. Well no he couldn't fathom what Lisbeth was thinking from one moment to the next so he would be next to worthless to say what Camilla was thinking about.

When the taxi came to a halt in front of his building it seemed to rouse Camilla out of herself, "Where are we?" she asked looking out of the taxi window like a child.

"You didn't say anything so I just told him the take us to my apartment. I don't have a spare room, but you are welcomed to my bed." Camilla turned and fix him with an icy stare that reminded him so much of Lisbeth that he almost started to beg for mercy. "And I can sleep on the sofa." He added quickly.

She didn't stop looking him at him but her stare got a few degrees warmer. "That is very kind of you, but I can manage to find a hotel room I think." she liked Blomkvist but there was no reason to just be stupid about the whole affair. He was still a strange man that she did not know. Regardless if he had called her with an offer to help her sister. He was still a man that she did not know.

Blomkvist nodded, "I will phone in the morning." He climbed out and paid the taxi drive more than was necessary to cover to her ride to wherever she wanted to go. She thought that was sweet and that earned him a little nod of her head in thanks.

She just told the taxi driver to take her to the first decent hotel that had more than three stars. She thought she was a bit beyond a hostel by now. The cabbie dropped her off at the Hilton. She booked a suite for three days if she stayed longer she could rent one of the executive apartments that rented by the month if need be, but right now she was just thinking about the large soaking tube and room service.

She got into her room in record time and out of her clothes just as fast. She was standing in the bathroom watching the pool sized bath tube fill with lemon scented bubbles when her phone rang. Camilla so did not want to answer her phone, but she did. It might have been something important.

"Hello?" she said dipping her big toe into the water and sighing in satisfaction.

"I thought I would call and invite you to dinner," Blomkvist rumbled softly over the phone. Despite her mantra of 'no men' she found herself smiling as she slipped into her bubbles and hot water.

"Mr. Blmokvist you are tenacious aren't you." she blew on the surface of her bubbles and watched them skate across the tube and off the side. She was going to make a spectacular mess, but she didn't care. "I was just getting a bath and then I was going to climb into this big bed that I am paying an arm and a leg for." And that sounded like a good end to the day for her.

"I like to think I am more exciting than a bath and then bed," He countered.

"Is that so?" Camilla asked. She rather thought Blomkvist was flirting with her and regardless of the warning she found it refreshing.

"Of course Dr. Salander. How about I give you an hour and I come to your hotel and we just have dinner downstairs," He offered. Camilla was trying to stick her big toe into the water tap and almost dropped her phone in the water. She squealed in fright. "Well I've never gotten that sound out of a woman about dinner before," he chuckled. She heard the teasing hint, but let it pass.

"I almost dropped my phone," She told him by way of explanation of her squeal. "But dinner sounds nice Mr. Blomkvist." After she was done with her bath that was.

"Please call me Mikael." He said.

"Alright Mikael. I will meet you at in the hotel restaurant at 8:30. I'm staying at the Hilton." At least if he meant her harm she was safe under the hotel's cameras.

"See you then Dr. Salander." She could hear the smile in his voice and she had to smile as they both hung up their phones.

She spent nearly 45 minutes in the tub and she was nearly a prune as she climbed out and toweled off. She didn't bother to wash her hair, she would do that in the morning. She wouldn't have the time to blow it out if she had. Back in her room she pulled out the few little clothes that she packed. Two pairs of jeans and slacks, three shirts and one dress. A little yellow dress with a set of barely there straps.

Well it was a good thing they weren't leaving the hotel. The dress was totally inappropriate for the Swedish weather. She slipped into a clean pair of panties and a bra then slipped the dress over her head.

It fell almost to her knees and with her tan the yellow was a pretty color on her. She walked back into the bathroom to slap on some make up and do something to her short red bob. She could almost pull of a diminutive Lauren Becall.

At exactly 8:30 she was stepping off the elevator walking into the lobby. Mikael was standing in the middle of the lobby in a pair of black slacks, a dark blue button down shirt and black jacket. He hadn't worn a tie. Camilla had to admit he was ruggedly handsome in a roguish sort of way. That smile of his promised a fantastic roll in the hay, but underneath it there was nothing but heartache in the morning.

Blomkvist turned to see Camilla as she stepped off the elevator. His breath caught in the back of his throat as she approached. He could hear his blood pounding through his veins, and he felt a stirring somewhere deep in his chest. The yellow dress she wore caught the light at the right moments and it made her seem as if she were stepping out of a sunburst, and with her red hair it gave her a phoenix rising out of the ashes look. It was in a word, breathtaking.

It had been a long time since he had felt that way at the sight of a woman. Not since he first met Berger at University. He coughed into his hand to hid the heat rising on his cheeks.

"I must say Mikeal I do like a man that can tell time," Camilla said lightly with a smile. She had to hid her giggle as she saw him blush a deeper shade of crimson. She had never had that effect on a man before. It was refreshing to say the least.

"Well you are certainly a ray of sunshine," Blomkvist said as his mouth finally started working again. He held out his arm to which Camilla graciously took. There were five restaurants to choose from. Camilla made a face at the seafood place so Blomkvist choose the steakhouse. That seemed to please her immensely.

They were seated next to a large fish tank that featured small sharks circling around their heads every few moments.

"So Mikael please lets talk about the elephant in the room." Camilla started once the waiter had brought their drinks. Blomkvist opting for a pale ale and Camilla going for a white wine spritzer. "Are you in a relationship with Lisbeth?" The look she got from Blomkvist was enough for a thousand pictures.

He nearly sputtered into his beer, but he recovered nicely. "Er...um..." His brain was having a massive fart at the moment.

"So I will interpret that as a no, but you did sleep with her. And judging from the fact that you know about me I am going to go as far as to say that it was more than a casual fling. But if you are sitting here with me and not her I am going to go even further to say that she cut it off. So am I here as a way back into her bed?" She took a drink from her glass and watched Blomkvist.

There were few women in Blomkvist's life that were so direct and intuitive, and though it was making him squirm in his boxers he was loving the hell out of it. It was one of the sexiest things Blomkvist could think. Sure he slept with Lisbeth and enjoyed her company, but he was finding with Camilla that she was awakening something primal in him and it was starting to make his groin ache.

He set his beer aside and leaned forward, "Camilla if I may be so bold," he said by way of a question. Camilla nodded. "I will never lie about whom I take into my bed. Yes, me and Lisbeth slept together and yes she was the one who cut off all contact with me. I am not the sort of man that has to resort to trickery or antics to fill my bed. So no, I did not call you back to Sweden simply to get back into Lisbeth's panties. She would bite my head off if I even tried anything of the sort and I daresay after the look you gave me in the cab you would do the same. Something stinks in this whole affair and I intend to find out what. Your sister was attacked the other night and now she is being accused of these murders. Murders of my friends by the way and people that Lisbeth wouldn't harm them." He stopped talking when the waiter trolled by with their dinners.

Camilla had ordered the petite filet with mushroom risotto and asparagus. Blomvkist opted for the T-bone steak mashed sweet potatoes and a corn hash. He had never been to the United States and was unsure of what sweet potatoes tasted like but Camilla assured him they were delicious. So he was willing to step out onto a culinary limb.

"Lisbeth was attacked?" Camilla asked after a moment for both of them to sample their dinners. Blomkvist was surprised at the buttery sweetness of the sweet potatoes and more surprised that he actually liked them.

He nodded, "Yes I was coming back from a late night dinner with Dag and Mia. I strolled down her street. It was silly to think I would catch a glimpse of her, but there I was. A potbellied man with a pony tail hopped out of a dark car and tried to muscle your sister into it. She fought back like a demon and ran away. I tried to help and was rewarded with a thump on the head myself and your sister's purse." He managed to get all of that in while chowing down half of his steak.

"Was she hurt?" Camilla asked.

Blomkvist shook his head, "He didn't even touch her. She knocked him silly for a few moments and then ran." He said. "Then Dag and Mia were shot to death in their apartment and somehow the police have it in their heads that Lisbeth is the culprit." They ate in silence for a few moments. Camilla wasn't sure what was going on and she felt like she was missing some key piece of information and that was starting to get under her skin.

She loved puzzles. She had recently gotten into the 3-D models and of course in the lab she had to deal with puzzles all the time. It was the thrill of the unknown that drove her. She loved learning and finding the solution to things and Blomkvist had just dropped a massive puzzle in her lap. The only bone of contention was the fact that her sister knew more than she did and seemed to be the corner piece that brought everything into focus.

"Who are Dag and Mia?" She finally asked. Might as well start at the beginning. It was better than nothing.

"Dag was a freelancer with Millennium and Mia was his girlfriend. They were both working on something that was going to ruffle a few feathers when they were killed, and I think it had something to do with their murders." he had only shared that with a few people, but for some reason he felt like being totally upfront with Camilla.

"Well this is a lot to digest over dinner. Not that I am going back on my word to help my sister, but I think maybe this all might look better in the morning." Camilla told him closing the subject for now. The spent the rest of the evening having light but flirtatious banter.

It was refreshing for Camilla, it was slow torture for Blomkvist. Any other time he would have been cavalier with his feelings. It had always served him well, but he was dealing with a Salander and though Camilla was upfront as her sister something was telling him to hold back. He wanted to kick whatever it was in the balls, but he was going to behave himself.

Dinner was a fabulous time for both Camilla and Blomkvist. She had never had so much fun flirting with a man, and in fact she was sure that ability had been long dormant.

He promised to be in the lobby bright and early to pick her up. If she were going to help he was going to have to bring her up to speed.

"Goodnight Mikael it was a lovely evening." She leaned up on her tip toes and he had to lean down for her to peck him on the cheek. He inhaled her subtle perfume that smelled like strawberries and baby powder. It was hypnotic.

"Goodnight Camilla." He stood rooted on the spot till she climbed back on the elevator.

He walked out of the hotel in a strawberry induced daze. He almost missed his phone ringing. "Hello."

"Mikael where have you been? You sound funny." Berger commented.

"Nothing. I was out with a friend." He said hailing a cab.

"The police had been looking for you at the office." Berger said.

"I will be in the office tomorrow. Can they wait until then?" He wasn't in the mood for another interrogation.

"I think so, but are you sure you're ok. You sound out of breath? Do you need me to come over." Her husband was out of town for a guest lecture and she was feeling a little lonely.

"No I'm alright. You go home." He said a little flatly.

"Sure," Berger told him as she hung up. Blomvkist had never rebuffed her from his bed before. Not when he was married and not when he was dating his other girlfriends. She wasn't sure how she felt about that. A little burned.

Blomkvist felt bad for turning down Berger, but for some reason he just wasn't in the mood for sex. Well he was but not with her. That had never happened before.


End file.
